A-League: Perth Glory v Newcastle Jets - as it happened

90+3 min: And there goes the whistle! ‘Glory, glory Perth Glory’ plays over the tannoy and the hosts survive that, er, brief scare to post their third win of the season and move up to second in the A-League. Phew.

90 min: The board indicates there will be three minutes of added time played. Still time for the Jets.

89 min: The pressure on the Glory goal eases and the home side can break now, with Keogh who runs at his man and showcases a couple of neat step-overs before letting fly… straight at Birighitti, who makes the save.

87 min: It’s not over yet though. Hoole cuts inside and has a crack at goal. Blocked this time, but the Jets are looking invigorated.

85 min: Welsh lets fly from distance as Newcastle look to get back into this match, but that one smacks of desperation.

82 min: Meanwhile, Newcastle have made another change – Caravella on for Kantarovski.

80 min: Can we just pause for breath please? What an incredible couple of minutes. There’s steam coming off my keyboard! You wouldn’t rule out more goals either.

75 min: Perth respond by making a change – Maclaren comes on to replace De Silva.

72 min: Here comes another change. Richard Garcia replaces Mitch Nicholls. And another! Edson Montano on for Joel Griffiths for the Glory. Both newcomers are capable of mixing things up. Let’s hope one of them does - otherwise phrases like ‘dour stalemate’ might have to be used in match reports.

70 min: I have to say, Andy Keogh’s been disappointing tonight. That might just have been the great expectations, but even so, he’s not really featured.

68 min: Hersi again looks dangerous but the deadlock remains unbroken as his shot swerves the wrong way and ends up going well wide of the post. Surely there’s a goal in this game?

67 min: Another chance for Glory! Hersi is fouled by Pepper and the resulting free-kick the Dutchman glances a header over the bar!

65 min: Back down at the other end and Hersi beats his man on the left before firing over a bullet of a cross. Birighitti is there to pluck the ball out of the air though. Still goalless.

64 min: This is a good little spell for the visitors, who have suddenly managed to string a few passes together. Hoole sends a curler past the upright, as if to underline the point.

61 min: Again Newcastle threaten as Kantarovski finds Jeronimo with a ever-so-slightly over-hit through pass. Jeronimo takes a touch but it’s heavy and Vukovic races off his line to get there first and clear. But definite warning signs for Perth now.

57 min: Oooh! Chance for the Jets! Carney lofts over a cross which Vukovic, already spoting a baseball cap, appears to lose it in the sun. The ball falls to Welsh, whose low drive is cleared off the line by Thwaite! At 0-0, that’s always going to be the danger for the Glory...

55 min: Here comes the first change of the match: Clisby off, Jamieson on.

54 min: De Silva gets a chance to have a run at the Jets defence here, he pushes it past his defender and appears to have won a corner at the byline – until a goal kick is given. The crowd don’t like it, but what can you do?

53 min: Vukovic is forced into punching a Carney free-kick behind for a Jets corner. A rare moment of danger for the hosts? No, it’s a rubbish kick and Perth are soon able to bring the ball out of defence.

50 min: Hersi wants a penalty after Pepper fells him right on the edge of the box, but referee Williams won’t be swayed, despite the on-going protestations.

48 min: Ceeerunch! Thwaite and Griffiths slide into a bone-jangling challenge, with the Newcastle man coming out worse off. In footballer speak, there was 110 per cent commitment in that tackle, from both players. No complaints from either party either, which is always nice to see.

47 min: Almost immediately Nicholls bursts forward and runs in towards goal, but Jaliens recovers well to make a fantastic block.

I understand that the photo at the top of this blog appears to indicate Perth have scored. I can confirm they have not. That’s Andy Keogh, scoring earlier in the season, in the same kit and at the same venue. So far this evening, he and his team-mates have been unable to break down the Jets’ defence. Clear-cut chances, if we’re being honest, have been few, even if in terms of possession they’ve been dominant. And at 0-0, anything can happen. Should be an interesting second half.

44 min: Hersi again! De Silva is the architect once again, slipping in the Dutchman whose subsequent shot is well-saved by Birighitti. The former Wanderers man can’t make anything out of the rebound either and the ball is scrambled behind for another corner.

41 min: Djulbic lets fly with a long-range effort and while the defender makes good contact, it’s easy enough for Birighitti to deal with.

38 min: While we wait for a Perth goal, why not have a read about the Swiss player who kicked the ball in a referee’s face and was banned for… 50 years. Full story here. Reports that he’s eyeing up a move to the A-League as a foreign import once the ban expires are yet to be confirmed.

35 min: Hersi, a livewire as always, is a handful for Jaliens, but the older of the two Dutchmen wins this particular duel.

32 min: Straight down to the other end and Newcastle muster another shot on goal. Hoole’s low drive doesn’t reach its intended target, but it’s close enough to wake up Vukovic, at the very least.

31 min: Chance of Glory! Thwaite sweeps over the bar as the ball lands at his feet from a corner. He perhaps should have done better to control that effort. Whatever, the stalemate endures.

30 min: So, half an hour played at nib Stadium and the only surprise so far is that Perth haven’t scored.

28 min: Ferreira is pulled up for offside as he overlaps on the Glory right-hand side and is found by De Silva. Replays show the decision to be marginal (that’s a way of saying I’ve no idea if he was on or off from this angle of viewing).

26 min: A shot on target from Newcastle! It may be wildly speculative, it may be easy for Vukovic to claim, but it’s a shot on target!

24 min: Carney takes the dubious honour of becoming the first man into the book today, for dissent. I understand the ‘heat of the moment’ excuse, but really getting booked for mouthing off at the ref is just plain stupid. He’ll have to be careful for the rest of the game now.

20 min: Hersi hares onto a Marinkovic through pass but Birighitti is off his line quickly to avert the danger. It’s looking like a matter of time before the deadlock is broken.

19 min: Ooh! Marinkovic sends the resulting free-kick wide of the post, with Birighitti apparently unruffled by the effort. He doesn’t even bother diving, so confident he was of it going past the post. Supreme confidence. Or maybe he just couldn’t even get close.

18 min: A storming run by Thwaite is ended rather abruptly by a, shall we say, robust challenge by Pepper, just on the edge of the box. No booking for the Jets defender, which is, frankly, amazing.

16 min: It’s one-way traffic at the moment and Newcastle just can’t get out of their own half. So panning out pretty much as expected so far.

13 min: Keogh now finds some space as the Glory continue to pressure the visitors. But the Irishman’s clipped ball into the middle isn’t his best and Griffiths heads behind to avert any danger.

10 min: Lovely stuff as Hersi is found with a neat little ball by Keogh on the by-line but as the Dutchman bares down on goal at a tight angle the whistle goes and he’s pulled up for offside.

8 min: Chance for De Silva! Ooh! The ball falls kindly to him on the edge of the box after Perth, who are well on top, win the first corner of the day. It’s blocked on the line, before pinging back out, then back in again, then out, decisively. I want to use the word ‘pinball’. A proper, 1980s arcade pinball machine, minus flashing lights, sirens and ramps. But pinball nevertheless.

6 min: That was a bit of a warning shot across Newcastle’s bows there. Perth come again now as De Silva gets the ball at his feet on the edge of the Jets’ box. A hard but fair challenge comes in on the youngster and the door is closed. He’s going to have to get used to that kind of treatment.

4 min: But here come Perth now with Hersi, who centres for Keogh. The Irishman lays it off and the ball comes to Nicholls who fashions a shooting opportunity for himself. His effort’s way off target though.

3 min: Newcastle are enjoying the better possession during these opening exchanges as both sides seek to get a foothold in the game.

1 min: It’s a beautiful-looking pitch out there. Absolutely pristine. That should help anyone who fancies playing the ball along the deck today.

Ever wondered what would happen if footballers actually said what they thought in interviews? Truthmageddon! But we’re not going there just yet, not tonight anyway. Joel Griffiths has just said: “We feel quite confident.” Confident? How is that? Sure, there’s a chance of them getting something from the game – it’s a game of football, anything can happen – but confident? Or am I just being cynical? Perhaps that kind of self belief (and a sizeable amount of talent) is why he’s a professional footballer and why I’m not.

Despite the bluster from Perth’s official people, it’s not looking like a big crowd today and there are plenty of empty green seats around nib Stadium as kick-off approaches.

The most exciting young Australian talent at the moment. This man could be the top number 10 this country has been waiting for.

So says Mark Bosnich about Perth Glory’s Daniel de Silva. High praise indeed for the 17-year-old who was sold to Italian giants Roma before being loaned back to Glory. Agree? Disagree? Totally dismiss whatever Bosnich says? Get in touch. Looking forward to seeing the youngster in action tonight.

Today’s referee is Ben Williams, fresh from an enforced week off after his, er, dubious decision to send of Sydney FC’s Nikola Petkovic in an FFA Cup fixture. He’s assisted this evening by Josh Mannella and Tim Mihevc. David Bruce is the fourth official, just in case you wanted to know.

Good afternoon Western Australia, and hello the rest of the world whatever time of day it is where you are. Welcome to Guardian Australia’s coverage of today’s big (only) game – Perth Glory against the travel-weary Newcastle Jets. It promises to be an intriguing encounter at nib Stadium, which was bathed in glorious sunshine earlier today, and according to the Googlometer is probably still like that as I type.

Perth impressed in their opening two matches of the new season, only to falter at Adelaide United last weekend. But the fixture computer has been kind to them and presented Kenny Lowe’s side with an excellent opportunity to bounce straight back from that defeat against a team that, to put it simply, cannot win away from home.

Poor Newcastle, you can’t help but feel a touch sorry for them; the fixture computer certainly won’t be getting a Christmas card from the Hunter region this year. Wellington last weekend, Perth this. I can’t be bothered working out exactly how far apart those two cities are, but factor in a stopover back in Newcastle, and it’s a pretty long way to be travelling in the space of a week. It wouldn’t be so bad if the Jets, who won’t play at the Hunter Stadium until round five, were returning home with points in the bag, but they’re not. They haven’t won in their three away games so far this season – a point at Melbourne City is all they have to show for their efforts – and all signs point to more frustration today.

Those signs, it would seem, not only include distance travelled by the Jets, their record in Perth (one win, over nine years ago), recent form and the fact that Perth have won their last four at home, but also Andy Keogh.

Ah, Andy Keogh. The hottest striker in the A-League at the moment? Quite possibly, given the Irishman’s league strike rate of four in three so far (it was four in two) and nine in all formats including another two in the FFA Cup win over Melbourne Victory in midweek. You can stick your David Villa where the sun don’t shine – Keogh might not be the biggest name import to land on these shores, but he’s laying down an early case for signing of the season.

Anyway, as I said, plenty of intrigue to look forward to. Feel free to get in touch during the course of the evening if you have any thoughts on the game, on football or life in general. You can do so via the links above the photo up there (*points to the top of the screen).

Mike will be here shortly to guide you through this afternoon’s events in Perth. Until he gets here, here’s how Guardian Australia’s Paul Connolly sees this one.

Any cautious optimism Newcastle fans may have had following their first two matches – a narrow, season-opening, loss to the Mariners and a draw against Melbourne City away – would have been truly tested last week when Wellington, spearheaded by their ex-forward Nathan Burns, tore them to shreds. The Jets just didn’t seem up for it; they seemed tactically confused, they lacked any composure in the final third and when pressed in midfield they stood on their chairs as if there were mice underfoot. Now – on the back of a five-game winless streak (when away) – they’re off to Perth to face a buoyant Glory side that, like Wellington, will hit the Jets on the counter and test their willingness to track back. If the Jets have any hope, Marcos Flores – who’s being carried as he struggles to get match fit after a long layoff – will have to start showing some form, striker Edson Montano will need much better service (if he plays, that is – Phil Stubbins may opt for Jeronimo and Joel Griffiths as a front two) while Newcastle’s wing-backs Scott Neville and David Carney need to remember the ‘back’ part of their job title.

Read Paul’s weekend preview in full here.